Amanda Bynes was allegedly seen with a can of petrol at the scene of a fire she is said to have started in California on Monday night.

The star, who has reportedly been taken to hospital and held under a 5150 hold as she was apparently deemed a possible danger to herself and others, prompted residents on a residential street in Thousand Oaks to call 911 after a person was seen on the driveway of a home having started a small fire.

In a recording obtained by TMZ, the caller can be heard saying: "It's a very small fire, it's on a driveway... It's like a small piece of cloth and a gasoline tank which is why I'm calling 911."

Amanda has seemingly not been herself lately (Photo: Splash)

Continuing to talk about the petrol tank, the caller added: "I don't know if there's a lot of gasoline in it... No one's injured... It's decently close [to the house], I would say about five feet, and there is a tiny little fire in a crack which is right next to the grass."

Amanda, who was pictured looking disheveled while wearing her infamous blonde wig while shopping in Malibu this week, is reportedly under a 5150 hold - the law used to keep Britney Spears and Mischa Barton on a mental health ward involuntarily for 72 hours in the past.

On Tuesday, Captain Don Aguilar of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office told US website Hollyscoop: "Deputies investigated the incident and determined that she met the criteria of 5150 W&I (California Welfare & Institutions Code). She was detained and taken for a mental health evaluation."

Amanda Bynes has been seen acting strangely in New York lately (Photo: Splash)

This latest news follows a number of worrying incidents involving the actress - on Sunday the star was reportedly accused of appearing drunk and acting erratically at a retirement community near Thousand Oaks.

Amanda was apparently there to visit a relative but was asked to leave after staff apparently thought she was trespassing, according to TMZ.

She has also been pictured and filmed acting strangely while out and about in New York and recently attended a court hearing after she allegedly tossed a marijuana bong from the window of her 36th floor apartment.